YouTube Seeks TV Ad-Vantage

Adding a key component to its video advertising repertoire, YouTube is set to add the TV screen to AdWords and DoubleClick Bid Manager, complementing the capability it already delivers on PCs, smartphones and tablets. YouTube TV is also set to bring full-length ad inventory to its premium-level Google Preferred program.

YouTube will be adding the TV screen capability to TVs in the “coming months” amid a shift in the market where consumers in the 18-49 age group in the U.S. are either light viewers of TV or don’t subscribe to a TV service, yet 90% of them watch YouTube, Debbie Weinstein, managing director, YouTube/Video Global Solutions, explained Sunday in this blog post while citing a Google-commissioned Nielsen “fusion” study for measurement across desktops, mobile and TV.

“Today we’re introducing a new set of opportunities on YouTube to help brands reach these viewers across content and devices,” she explained. “Now, in 2018, viewers are returning to that original, purpose-built device for video viewing – the television set.”

TV screens are now YouTube’s fastest-growing screen, supporting more than 150 hours of watch time per day, Weinstein noted. That’s based on internal YouTube data accurate as of January 2018 that’s based on a seven-day average of watch time across TV-connected devices, including smart TVs, Roku players, Apple TV devices and gaming consoles.

On the MVPD front, two major U.S. cable operators, both Comcast and Cox Communications, have integrated YouTube on their new internet-connected set-top boxes.

Per data from an Ipsos Lab experiments from March involving 32 ads and 800 U.S. residents, YouTube ads shown on TV screens also produce a lift in ad recall and purchase intent, with an average lift of 47% and 35%, respectively, she added.

Tied into the effort, YouTube TV, the OTT TV service launched more than a year ago and is now available in about 100 TV markets, will add full length TV inventory in Google Preferred to advertisers for the upcoming broadcast season.

With Google Preferred, brands/advertisers get access to the top 5% of content on YouTube and reach into the 18-34 age demo.

“This means advertisers will be able to get both the most popular YouTube content and traditional TV content in a single campaign – plus, we’ll dynamically insert these ads, giving advertisers the ability to show relevant ads to the right audiences, rather than just showing everyone the same ad as they might on traditional TV,” Weinstein explained.